I’m in a similar boat. Black bear hunt in June. 29” draw, 480 gr arrow, 64# draw.

 

I’m considering IW wides or tuffhead evolutions with blood rings. My IWs don’t have bleeders

 

Any broadhead will work. Bear hide is easier than deer to get thru imo. And doesn't matter the weight of the arrow or what broadhead. If u hit shoulder u r not getting thru. I'd rather have a bigger expandable better blood trail

 

Iron Will Wides!

 

any sharp fixed head will work just fine, no reason to go all ape over a broadhead for bears

study the anatomy of a bear as it is not the same as a deer

 

QAD Exodus

Bisch

 

Curious as to your reasoning over other heads.

 

slick trick magnums. love them

 

I know your outfitter said they prefer fixed blades so I'm not advocating going against their advice, but a few years ago I blew a 2" Grim Reaper Whitetail Special through a black bear and buried in the ground. This is with a Bowtech Realm SR6 pulling 70# and shooting arrows at 420gr finished weight. I share this not to try to convince you to shoot a mechanical, but to show that a huge cut mechanical worked just fine so anything that should penetrate better should be fine as well. I agree with what's been said, don't overthink this one, shoot what you and your outfitter are comfortable with and you should be just on your way to smiling behind a big ole bruin! Good luck!

 

We kill a ton of bears and if u r going fixed, slick trick, VPA 3 blade, TOTA, Montec, alien archery. Remember, 2 or 3 blade fixed solid will kill any animal on the planet.

 

Ironwill Wides, Solids, Trifecta, Day six Evo XL

 

Black bears are not difficult to obtain good penetraion, provided you stay away from heavy bone. However unlike a whitetaii, they have long hair that tends to soak up blood and makes trailing more difficult.....especially in the thick brush they tend to frequent. So I would personally use a 3 or 4 blade head for more internal damage over a two-bladed head like an IW. The fixed BH's I use for whitetail.....TOTA, Shuttle-T, Magnus with bleeder, etc would work great on a bear.....as long as you have your bow well tuned and the arrow/BH combo flying well.

Study black bear anatomy and watch as many hunting videos as you are able, to get a good feel for their behavior around a bait site and best shot angles. The first bear I had come in..... the adrenaline dump had my heart racing and the overly excited shakes going on....so it was probably a good thing a shot was not attempted. But it gave me a baseline for making a good shot later that same hunt.

 

Bears are thinned skinned. Not difficult to kill. Any fixed head will work. Whatever you hunt whitetail with, will work just fine on bear.
I'll be using magnus head this spring on my bear hunt. If the new magnus single bevel flys well, which I have no doubt will..... will be my head of choice. Will also have the killer bee in my quiver.
Good luck!

 

I have only killed about a dozen bears. Last year I used an IW wide performed flawlessly. I wouldn’t be afraid to use a mechanical either but I get wanting to stick with the outfitters recommendations.

 

Thanks guys Sounds like a lot of great advice here!

 

I’m using black hornetserrazors for deer with bleeders.
I think according to what the recommendations they should be fine.

 

I killed my first and only bear in NB Canada. Bear was about 200 lbs. I used a muzzy MX3. didn’t run more than 25 yards. Went through should and lodged in opposite.

 

On all but one of my bears I have used mechanical heads and all blew through effortlessly except one that buried into the off shoulder. Since your outfitter wants fixed though I would go with the widest, sharpest fixed I could get to fly well. The IW Wides are great, so are the Tuffhead Wides. Any quality heads will work fine though. The QAD, Slick Tricks, whatever. I just want a lot of blood on the ground as that hair soaks up blood and often shot at last light.

 

Any head with a bleeder or the annihilator.

 

I'm using 4 blade Slick tricks on my spring bear hunt. My first bear hunt I was pretty nervous about my gear. After four trips I'm convinced my whitetail set up is fine for bears.

 

I've arrowed a few & your set up is more than sufficient. I've done it with 53# recurve, 55# Compound & 60# compound. Some biggies too. 19" my best. ( Always a 3 blade fixed). When you see that Bear walk in & it's your 1st time, PICK A SPOT. Many are missed at 20 & less yds because of your 1st time reactions. Good Luck, enjoy. IF it's hot make sure you have a net & some tape to tape your sleeves & cuffs shut BLACK FLIES are murder if out & you are not prepared. I know from experience & at least 15 Spring Bear bowhunts. I used 125gr 3 blade Rocky Mountain Razor & Rocky Mountain Ironhead. Lots of good ones out there. Hogs are usually tougher & family uses 3 blade Montecs on them. Oh, I believe every Bear that comes into your stand area "knows" your there. Most of my stands have been near 15 ft but my largest was taken at 12 foot up (only way possible) & at 20 yds. I did take one at 15 yds on the ground but that was a lucky event going to the stand. Respect your quarry, they can be unpredictable & yes, I have had a few hairy experiences too. Regardless, you should be in for a fun & memorable adventure. Be safe.

 

I would personally use a 3 or 4 blade head for more internal damage over a two-bladed head like an IW.

 

Explain your logic? So a SB bevel head won't do as much internal damage?

 

Watch a lot of videos to help prevent buck bear fever. It’s a rush.

 

I've killed around 20 bears, 15 big ones, 20" skulls and 4 over 21", so big bears, all of them with a snyper mechanical, never a single issue, I've shot through shoulder a few times as well. I would say go with a rage trypan, black bears are designed for mechs!

 

I've been on a bunch of bear hunts and lots of bear taken with mechanicals. The Swhacker makes a heck of a hole!
Shoot whatever you like!

 

I used QAD Exodus last hunting season, whitetail and black bear seasons.
Didn't get to see how they performed first hand, but I have faith they will work just fine.
444grain arrow around 280fps out of a 65# bow

 

Your setup will kill one with any head. But I would stick with outfitter recommendations mainly for the purposes of good relations. While a mechanical will work there is really no need as shots are generally close and wind isn’t usually an issue so you should be able to get any head to fly well.

I used Exodus on my hunt back in ‘16. Killed 2 P&Y with largest being 20 4/16” skull. Heads did a number on them. I agree with recommendations on 3 or 4 blades just to get good hole given all the hair etc. My current recommendation would be a TOTA XL. I’ve killed a number of deer with them and they put a big square hole in anything they hit (watch Lusk reviews also). Nothing will stop those holes from bleeding and you’ll almost certainly get two holes. But if you want replaceable blade heads I would recommend the Exodus.

 

Please do not take what everyone here is saying as gospel. Bears and moose are exactly the same. Broadside and in the lungs and they tip over in 40yds. Any angle, any major bone strikes and you have 90% chance of a lost animal. They are the easiest animals to kill in the world perfectly broadside tho. 40lbs, any head, send it!!!!!